Pixie

The first time I saw her, I despised her immediately. Even from across the crowded bowling alley, I knew that I wanted absolutely nothing to do with this short little bitch with a pixie hair cut, and a huge crush on my friend Kyle.

"That's Becky," Kyle told me.

"That's nice," I replied,"but she better stay away."

Looking back now, I realize that it was all a mix of protective jealousy and careless disdain.

She wore baggy jeans like my own, a red pleather coat, and a pair of hideous bug-eyed red snowboarding goggles on her head. Her hair was dirty and looked like someone had come up behind her and chopped it all off. I made a point of not looking at her for the rest of our time there, she simply made me cringe.
We left that evening with out incident, and I succeeded in forgetting that she even existed. After that evening, I would only see here every once in a while, and made a point not to acknowledge her when I did. That is, of course, until New Years Eve a few months later.

My little sister Amanda was in town from Florida to spend New Years with me and I hadn't seen her in quite some time, so it was like having a 12 year old monkey following you everywhere. The situation grew a little tiresome, and I wanted to find an exciting way for us to bring in the New Year. We got all bundled up and took a walk to the bowling alley, where I had heard some of my friends were playing video games. Sure enough, we walk though the door and Bob, Billy, and Steven were aiming a sniper rifle at pixilated enimies on a screen. After greetings and introductions, I noticed someone eyeing me from behind a billiard cue. When I turned and looked, it was HER! Fulfilling my need to look cool and save face in front of my friends, I led my sister over to the other pool table so we could watch the guys play from a safe distance.

Never, in all my life will I know what compelled her to walk over and start talking to me. Never, in all my life will I know why I ignored our un-spoken hate, and engaged in a conversation with her. I still felt a little leery towards her, and wasn't sure if I wanted to be seen talking to the girl that I had previously sworn to scorn. Small talk made it easy, and I soon discovered that she may not be a wretched as I had imagined. We left shortly there after, riding back to Billy's house to celebrate and bring in the new year with beer, bud, and heavy metal music. Billy and the guys had a metal band that practiced in his basement. New Year's Eve was no different as we all filed into the crowded basement to witness this spectacular. There was only one problem, their bass player Plummer was missing. Having to work late at the newly built 7-11 behind the bowling alley, he wouldn't be joining in the festivities until almost midnight. I don't think my sister knew what to make of all my friends dressed in black, with explosive metal music erupting from their beautiful "babies", in a fashion quite unlike anything she had heard before. The band rocked our socks for a good while, but I knew it was no where near over yet.

At almost 11:15pm exactly, Plummer came thundering down the steps with a case of beer and a little pixie in tow! What?! How could this be?! These were MY friends! With a big pause at the bottom of the steps, we just looked and pointed at each other.

"You! What are you doing here?"

I explained to her that these guys were my friends, and I was here to party with them. She told me that since she had been ditched the night before on her birthday, Plummer had invited her to come to the party with him and hang out. I had no choice but to subject myself to her girlish giggles and small talk. Beer number one didn't go down as smoothly as I would have liked. I practically choked it down at first because I didn't know what to say to this chick. The band continued to rock out, and Becky and I soon found it in our hearts to strike up a conversation between cigarettes and sneaking sips of beer to my sister. Granted, I hadn't left my dislike for this girl in the dust, but the beer and the bud made it easier to accept that I was conversing with her over the roar of drums and screaming guitars.
Midnight struck, and the New Year rang in with a personalized rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner" serenading the neighborhood at full blast.

Amanda and I left early that night because my mom didn't think it was proper to keep a 12 year old out that late. I think it was more due to the fact that she was afraid my friends and I would corrupt her and send her back to Florida some kind of demon child. Jealousy scratched at the back of my mind, knowing that SHE was there with MY friends celebrating and having fun after I had left.

The next day, I took a walk up to the bowling alley again to look for my friends. I figured SOMEONE would be up there keeping Kyle company on New Years Day. I was right, someone was there, it just so happened to be Becky. We exchanged formalities, and because there was no one else around to talk to, spent a bit more time getting to know each other. I discovered that she lived only a block away from the bowling alley, and I told her that I lived just behind it in the townhomes. Coincidence, maybe...but it was definitely fate.

Her friend Andy soon joined us up there, and we spent the rest of the afternoon and part of the evening hanging out, playing pool, and talking until I had to go home. They walked me home so we could exchange phone numbers and so they could see where I lived. I really wasn't expecting much of this new found companion and relationship we had unknowingly started. Something deep down inside told me that this wasn't going to be the last time we hung out, and I was right. Becky and Andy showed up at my door the very next day to whisk me away to the bowling alley again.Little did I know that this was the beginning of a friendship that I could no longer deny.

Now I live 355 miles away from the girl that I hated from the start and now love like a sister. Funny how life plays out that way.
To this very day, we still joke about hating each other at first sight and loving each other ever since. No matter how far away I am, I'll always love my Bex, my soul-sister, my best friend.